The instrument panel brace, which extends between the cowl and the instrument panel beam, is an important component of the instrument panel structure in vehicle where the occupant is not wearing a seat belt, but where the vehicle is equipped with an air bag restraint.
Previous versions of these braces allow a direct load path from the engine to the steering column which may cause the steering column to move rearwardly toward the driver during a collision. If the vehicle's instrument panel beam is not stiff enough so that it rotates during a collision, the result is reduced air bag efficiency because the air bag may not be positioned directly in front of the driver. To overcome this, an instrument panel brace is provided to hold the beam, steering column and air bag in position during a collision. However, if the instrument panel brace is not positioned properly, it could provide a direct load path from the engine to the steering column. The engine could push the dash, the instrument panel brace and the steering column rearwardly toward the driver.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,052,240 to Miyoshi et al. and 5,181,435 to Khalifa et al. teach the use of an instrument panel brace that is attached to the cowl. In this situation, the engine loading caused by a collision is directly transferred to the steering column. In the present invention, the instrument panel brace lies adjacent the cowl, without being attached thereto, and attaches to the instrument panel beam, thereby holding the steering column and air bag in place during a collision. However, because there is no attachment of the brace to the cowl or dash, the brace does not provide a direct load path from the engine to the steering column. Tests run on a vehicle showed an improvement of 14 g in a driver's dummy chest response when the instrument panel brace of the present invention was used.